


corgi post-it notes

by Gal_tic



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: AU, Cute Dan Howell/Phil Lester, Dan Howell and Phil Lester Are Married, Dan Howell and Phil Lester Are Soulmates, Dan Howell/Phil Lester Fluff, Dan is a Lawyer, Domestic Dan Howell/Phil Lester, M/M, phil is a receptionist
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-22
Updated: 2019-02-22
Packaged: 2019-11-02 02:59:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,236
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17879810
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gal_tic/pseuds/Gal_tic
Summary: Two idiots who (eventually) fall in love.Or, Phil is a receptionist who is terrible at communication and Dan is a melancholy lawyer.





	corgi post-it notes

**Author's Note:**

> Hello again!
> 
> This is an AU fic based very loosely on Laura (@laurainlilac on twitter) Office!AU art. (Note: this fic is NOT based on the Office!)
> 
> I hope you enjoy this small drabble about two oblivious nerds who eventually fall in love. 
> 
> As always, please leave kudos/a comment if you enjoyed! Feedback (good and bad) helps me so much, and motivates me to keep writing :) 
> 
> You can find me on twitter @Gal_tic and on tumblr @galhowell

When Dan had moved to London on a new contract with a established law agency, he hadn’t known that he would be walking into a whole new world of confusion. 

 

All thanks to the unfairly endearing and rather clumsy receptionist. 

  
  
  


When he had met Phil for the first time, it hadn’t been exactly been a good day. Being nearly ten minutes late to his first day and having coffee spilled down his front after bumping into someone as he had left the local coffee shop had turned him into a storm cloud on an (ironically) sunny day. 

 

There was Phil, of course, as endearing as always, jaw nearly dropping to the floor as he saw Dan’s disheveled and gloomy appearance. 

 

“Oh! Goodness me, you look like you’ve had it. You must be Mr. Howell, I presume?” He had said, looking up from his chair behind the rather high front desk as Dan slammed his coffee down on top of it, desperately trying to soak up some of the coffee on his (now ruined) Gucci button-down. 

 

“Yes. Was it clear from my appearance or something?” Dan had replied sharply, tossing the now wet tissue into a nearby trash can. 

 

“No! Of course not! I just...noticed that you were the only person who hadn't checked in today yet.” Phil squeaked, eyes wide.

 

Looking up, Dan softened slightly at his shell shocked expression. 

 

“Sorry….?”

 

“Phil.”

 

“Phil. I’ve just had a terrible morning. I hope you won’t hold this against me.” Dan had replied, picking his briefcase up and throwing Phil an apologetic smile as he turned to go down the hall. 

  
  


After his first meeting of the day, much to his surprise, he had found a post-it note with a corgi on it stuck to his desk with a note scribbled on it.

  
  
  


_ Dan -  _

 

_ Hope that this can help to make up for your morning - my Mum always told me that a good cuppa can fix any situation, and I hope it helps to brighten yours.  _

 

_ Phil :) _

  
  


Left, on his desk, was a cup of tea in a Shiba Inu mug.

 

Smiling slightly at the gesture, Dan picked up the mug and took a sip. 

 

_ Well, Phil wasn’t wrong. _

  
  


From that moment on, they had changed (quite rapidly) from strangers to friends. 

 

Phil, Dan found, was just the person you would expect he would be from his choice of Corgi post-it notes. He was loyal, enthusiastic, and thoughtful. 

 

So thoughtful, it often struck Dan hard. Never had he had someone so attentive to hear what he had to say. Conversations with Phil often lasted over five hours long, and whenever he had to leave him, he couldn’t help but feel like he had left a part of himself behind. 

 

Well, he thought their relationship had been going in a particular way. However, at the company’s Christmas party, he found that the reality was quite different. 

 

Phil had a boyfriend. 

 

A very tall, fit boyfriend. 

 

The entire party, Dan had been forced to watch as he made Phil giggle, held his hand, and keep him steady when he had clearly consumed a few too many drinks. 

 

(Dan himself may have had one too many fancy cocktails, but that was beside the point.)

 

Heading out of the venue at the end of the night, Dan had grabbed Phil’s arm, effectively pulling him off to the side. 

 

And, very tipsy and emotional, had said one of the stupidest things he possibly could have:

 

“So I’m not good enough for you?”

 

“What?” Phil had responded, flushed and looking unfairly gorgeous (as Dan would later remember) under the streetlamps.

 

“To date. Thought we were going somewhere. I always paid fr’ your coffees!” Dan slurred, leaning against the streetlamp as the world went blurry in his vision for a moment. 

 

“Dan...I’m sorry, but I think you misinterpreted things. I -” Phil began, reaching out to touch his arm before someone called for him, causing him to quickly draw his arm back and look over his shoulder. 

 

“Look, I have to go. Take this next cab, okay?” He had finished, putting a bill in Dan’s hand before shooting him an apologetic look as he turned away. 

  
  


Over the course of the next few weeks, Dan had made the effort of avoiding Phil at every cost. No longer did he go in the front doors to be able to talk to Phil every morning, or make the effort to go down to see him at lunchtime. 

 

Phil, clearly not getting his message, had resorted to leaving post-it notes on his desk every day in an attempt to reconnect. 

  
  


_ Dan - _

 

_ Came by again today to see you and was told that you were busy - I hope you’re not avoiding me. _

 

_ Phil  _

  
  


_ Dan -  _

 

_ Definitely convinced you’re avoiding me now. Please call me, okay? I miss you. _

 

_ (Plus, I haven’t watched Riverdale since we stopped talking - I’m deprived of Archie’s abs, you can’t do this to me.) _

 

_ Phil _

  
  


Every note Phil left had ended up in a small folder that Dan kept in his desk, as he had found himself unable to throw them away. 

  
  
  


Later that month, and three weeks since they had stopped talking, Dan was surprised to hear a knock on his front door at nine o’clock on a Wednesday evening. 

 

Throwing on a hoodie to make himself look slightly more acceptable, he answered it, freezing when he saw Phil on the other side. 

 

(He looked unfairly adorable, of course. Red-cheeked and ruffled from the cold.)

 

“Look, I wouldn’t be coming here if I had somewhere else to go but...I do need some help.”

 

“You know I’d always help you with anything.” Dan replied quietly, not meeting his eye as he watched Phil deflate at this. 

 

“Really? Even after you’ve cut me out all this time? I know you’ve seen the notes Dan. I’m sorry that...you thought what we had was more, but - we were friends!” Phil replied, biting his lip as he shifted awkwardly on the doorstep. 

 

“You never told me about him. Why?”

 

“I don’t know I just...it was complicated. So complicated that...I had to leave tonight. Couldn’t stay there.”

 

Dan snorted at this, looking up at him for the first time. “Looked like a dickhead, frankly. Didn’t seem good enough for you.”

 

“How would you know that?” Phil asked, expression softening slightly. 

 

“Because. You didn’t care enough to mention him. You had no photos of the two of you at work. Never did you act as if there was someone caring for you. That’s why I -”

 

“Wanted to care for me?” Phil finished, looking at him tenderly. 

 

“Yes. Because you’re...a good person. Better than I deserve, and...you’ve made my transition here less lonely. I’m sorry for being an idiot and misreading you.” Dan sighed, running a hand through his hair exasperatedly. 

 

“Well, looks like we’re both idiots, then. Couldn’t stop thinking about you.” Phil chuckled, a small smile crossing his face. 

 

Looking up, Dan met his eyes. “You have nowhere to go?”

 

“No. All alone.”

 

“Would you...want to come in?” Dan asked, stepping back inside further to let him in. 

 

Smiling, Phil nodded. “There’s nothing I’d like more.”

  
  
  


Later on, after Phil had moved in and their relationship was defined, many people asked them where they had met. 

 

Looking at each other and laughing, they always answered the same way. 

 

“Frankly, we were two oblivious idiots.”


End file.
